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<p>No one would ever mistake me for a math wiz and I used the same concept as BC. I knew that 9<em>9 =81 and 10</em>10 =100 since 100-95 =5, I would have also chosen the largest number over 9 and under 10.</p>
<p>My daughter also went to a school that did Marily Burns Math for smarty pants and knew how to do all sorts of abstract word problems but struggled doing basic arithmetic in her head. Yes, I whipped out my index cards and that is how she learned multiplication.</p>
<p>I agree with Garland about the over reliance on calculators. Kids with high tech calculators simply program formulas in their calculators and then plug and chug without really knowing how to do the work pen to the paper.</p>